COMMON TURKEY. 



157 



The American, or original Turkey, is about 

 three feet and a half in length ; being somewhat 

 larger than the domestic variety : it has a bare, 

 red, carunculated head and neck : a dilatable 

 fleshy appendage hangs over the beak : the pre- 

 vailing colour of its plumage is a splendid black, 

 inclining to brilliant gilded copper-colour, in some 

 lights ; in others, it inclines to purple : the greater 

 wing-coverts are glossy brown : quills green-gold, 

 black towards the ends, and white at the tips : the 

 breast has a tuft of black hairs, about eight inches 

 in length : the tail consists of eighteen feathers, 

 which are brown varied with black, of which latter 

 colour the tips are ; its coverts are waved with 

 black and white : the legs have a short blunt spur : 

 the female is destitute of the tuft on the breast, at 

 least none but old ones possess it, and then it is 

 not above half the length of that of the male : the 

 legs have not a spur. The young males do not 

 put out the tuft on the breast till they are about 

 three years old. 



In a domestic state Turkies vary exceedingly ; 

 but the most common appearance is dark grey, 

 inclining to black, a barred dusky white, and black: 

 it also occurs entirely of a fine deep copper-colour, 

 with the greater quills pure white, and the tail of 

 a dirty white, and is an elegant variety. 



White Turkies are not uncommon, often having 

 their entire plumage of that colour: they also 

 occur w^ith their head crested. 



There can be no doubt the Turkey originally 

 .came from North America, where they still asso- 



